Trivia!

This forum is for discussing space science topics related to Stardust@home.

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Jwb52z
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Post by Jwb52z »

Does question 1 mean "the moon is moving physically away from the sun at a certain speed" or "the moon is moving at a certain speed being a certain distance from the sun"?
Jwb52z
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Post by Jwb52z »

1. How fast is the moon moving away from the sun?

????

2. What is the surface temperature of the Sun?

5880 Kelvin, or 5605 Celsius to 6000 degrees Celsius depending on the source.

3. What is Quintuplet?

In this case, a quintuplet is a large central circle with four small evenly spaced outriders

4. What was discovered in Quintuplet that ended a long-standing debate?

I'm not good with science, but as near as I can figure out, it has something to do with spin states in atoms at different energy levels of positively charged excitons.

5. What is the value of the Hubble constant?

The current value of the Hubble constant, is hotly debated, with two opposing camps generally getting values near the high and low ends of 50 and 100 km s-1/Mpc

6. Why is Q6's value so important?

The constant H giving the rate of recession of distant astronomical objects per unit distance away. The fact that more distant objects are receding more rapidly than closer ones is interpreted as implying expansion of the universe, and is the main observation which led to the Big Bang theory. The Hubble constant changes as a function of time depending on the precise cosmological models as the expansion of the universe slows due to gravitational attraction of the matter within it. Most models give an age of the universe of order (which does indeed have units of time).

7. Dark spots are appearing and disappearing each "year" on what
planet?

I'm going ot guess Mercury because it would be the hottest planet around the sun.

8. What do those dark spots reveal about the planet?

They reveal that the planet has different areas of cold and hot.

9. What milestone did Voyager 1 reach on August 15th?

Voyager 1 reached 100 AU from the sun on August 15th 2006 at 5:13 PM

10. What is the area that Voyager 1 is in called and what is known about it?

Voyager 1 has entered what is called the "Heliosphere" or its outer area called the "Heliosheath" which is described as a "bumpy area" Our sun is surrounded by a bubble known as the heliosphere ("helio" means sun) that extends well beyond the solar system's outermost planets. This bubble is formed by the solar wind; electrically charged particles that blow out from the sun at a million miles per hour. As the sun races around the center of our Milky Way galaxy at some 560,000 miles per hour, this bubble, or heliosphere, shoves through the clouds of dust, gas and charged particles that whirl between the stars.

At the outer edge of the heliosphere, is the heliosheath, a transition or border region where the solar wind is directly influenced by the pressure of the interstellar clouds through which our solar system travels. Uncertainly about when Voyager 1 entered the heliosheath, stems from the fact that the exact location and size of this transition region are not static, but change based on the relative pressures of the solar wind and the opposing interstellar clouds.

The beginning of the heliosheath region is marked by the termination shock, the point at which the solar wind abruptly slows. The termination shock gets its name from the shockwave produced by the slowing of the solar wind. This shockwave is similar to the sonic boom that occurs on Earth when an airplane crosses the subsonic-supersonic barrier. The outermost edge of the heliosheath is the heliopause, which marks the end of our solar system. At the heliopause, the force or pressure of solar wind is stopped, balanced by that of the pressure from the interstellar clouds.
May2904
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Post by May2904 »

Jbw52z-

Your answers to 2, 9, and 10 are correct. Your question about number 1: the moon is physical moving away from the sun at what speed? Q3 &4 are about Quintuplet, not a quintuplet. Q5: My information says that scientists accurately determined Hubble constant with no inaccuracy percentage. And 6: I believe you are partially correct. Thanks a bunch for answering!!!!

Is there anyone else who would like to try?
sb126k
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Post by sb126k »

Q.3-Quintuplet is a massive cluster of stars (named for its five most prominent stars) in the center of the Milky Way galaxy, next to the supermassive black hole. The Quintuplet stars are 5 massive stars nearing the end of their life cycles that have formed dust clouds called "Pinwheels."

Q.4-Scientist recently discovered that all five stars are binary systems in which the stars are so close that their stellar outflow collides and forms a spiraling cloud of dust, which allows astronomers to study the properties of biary stars, such as the orbital period and distance. Until now, astronomers were unsure about what caused the formation of the dust clouds.
You rang?
May2904
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Post by May2904 »

Excellent answers for 3 & 4!!!

Forgive me for Question 1, I miss-wrote it. The question should be how fast is the Moon moving away from EARTH.
Jwb52z
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Post by Jwb52z »

Well, if I had known you meant the Earth, I would have answered it lol. I found that answer the other day.
GelDelve

Post by GelDelve »

Q7. Mars
Q8. The theory is that during Mars spring, the sun warms dark spots below the frozen CO2 ice at the pole causing a buildup of gas under pressure. Eventually the pressure explodes through the surface and shoots gases and the dark sand and small rocks like geysers onto the surface of the ice.
May2904
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Post by May2904 »

Excellent answers!!!!

Still need 5 & 6!
May2904
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Post by May2904 »

I have a question that's off the trivia mark but it's been bothering me. I was reading about black holes in the centers of galaxies and how they prohibit star formation. In the article it said that as a black hole grows, the host galaxy grows. How can both grow?
DustBuster
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Post by DustBuster »

GelDelve wrote:Q7. Mars
Q8. The theory is that during Mars spring, the sun warms dark spots below the frozen CO2 ice at the pole causing a buildup of gas under pressure. Eventually the pressure explodes through the surface and shoots gases and the dark sand and small rocks like geysers onto the surface of the ice.
Here is a great artist's rendering and an informative article from APOD on these

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060823.html
sb126k
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Post by sb126k »

May2904 wrote:I have a question that's off the trivia mark but it's been bothering me. I was reading about black holes in the centers of galaxies and how they prohibit star formation. In the article it said that as a black hole grows, the host galaxy grows. How can both grow?
I think it might have something to do with the black hole pulling in more matter as it expands, due to its increased gravity
You rang?
cthiker
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Post by cthiker »

sb126k wrote:
May2904 wrote:I have a question that's off the trivia mark but it's been bothering me. I was reading about black holes in the centers of galaxies and how they prohibit star formation. In the article it said that as a black hole grows, the host galaxy grows. How can both grow?
I think it might have something to do with the black hole pulling in more matter as it expands, due to its increased gravity
Interesting question. Although no astrophysicist, I think I'd add to sb126k's response that the answer lies at least in part with your definition of the word "grow." Growing in mass? Doubt it (but I'm sure some astute AP student will prove me wrong!). Growing in diameter? Well, if I add "stuff" to a black hole, then its event horizon (that gravitational "point of no reture") would expand as well. That would mean that the overall pressure from that event horizon would also proportionately increase (as described by Hawking - or should I say my lay understanding of that), making an outward force or pressure that could impact the overall galaxy in some, presumably small, but significant way.

Just a guess...where's a good AP when you need one?!? :D

Happy Dusting!!
Ferrum
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Post by Ferrum »

A black hole is different for what you and I experience everyday not because of its mass, but because its radius has "vanished" if you will. A good example would be the old trick question "what would happen to our planets orbit if the sun suddenly (and rather inexplicably) collapsed to form a black hole." The answer is "nothing!" A black holes gravity isn't any stronger than a normal star of the same size (even if the mass of a black hole at the center of a galaxy is measured in billions of stars). Put another way, the force of gravity close to a black hole is enormously "strong" because you can get so close to its total mass!

But to answer the original question...visit
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/blackhole-05h.html for a nice little article which describes what I believe May2904 was wondering about. The key point is that the mass of a black hole "corresponds" with the mass of the galaxy as a whole, not quite that an doubling of the mass of a black hole attracts twice as many stars to the galaxy. Remember, gravity follows an inverse square law, and falls off quite quickly as one moves away.
The integral sec y dy
From zero to one-sixth of pi
Is the log to base e
Of the square root of three.
Um...times the square root of the fourth power of i.
May2904
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Post by May2904 »

Why is it that scientists can get beautiful pictures of nebulas and other distant space objects but can't get anything better than shadows on Pluto's surface?
DustBuster
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Post by DustBuster »

Nebulae cover large areas of space. Pluto, although much nearer to us, is just a grain of sand in comparison.
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